Bill and letter file



(No Model.) i

MI. VANHQRNM. i BILL AND LETTER FILE.

No. 337,213. Batented Mar. 2, 1886.

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N. PETERS. Plwlmlllbognpher, Washing")?!- D. C.

NrrED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH S. VANHORN, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM H. YVOGLOM, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BILL AND LETTER FILE.

SEECIFECATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,213, dated March 2,1886.

Application filed December 28, i885. Serial No. 156,930. (No model.)

. T aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,JosE1 H S. VANHORN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, Hudson county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bill and Letter Files, of which the following is a specification.

My invention applies to that class of files having fixed filing-needles on which the papers are filed, and movable transfer-needles which meet with the fixed needles and are separable therefrom, to permit the transfer and removal of the papers when required. A file of this class is shown in the patent issued to J. M. Keep, of June 12, 1883, No. 279,170, on which my invention is an improvement. In the Keep file, however, but a single filing and transfer needle is used, the transfer-needle projecting from a thumb-lever pivoted between ears on the base plate, the lever having a camface which is pressed upon by a bow-spring, which serves to hold the needle in either its separated open position or in its closed position in contact with the filing-needle, accord ing' as the thumb-lever is depressed or released. In my invention I employ the same form of transfer-needle and thumb-lever with its cam and spring; but I employatwin num'- ber of these parts, so as to make the file double, and I mount the same on a broad baseboard provided with two parallel filing-needles to match with the double transfer-needles. The chief novelty of my invention consists, however, in having the thumb-levers prolonged toward each other with lateral thumb-pieces which approach or nearly meet at the middle of the base-board, so that in operating them the thumb of one hand can span and depress both levers at once, and thus raise both transfer-needles simultaneously; or either lever and needle can be operated separately as occasion requires, thus producing a very simple and convenient file.

I am aware that many files have been made with twin filing and transferneedles; but in these cases the transfer-needles are attached rigidly together to the same head or bar, or are otherwise operatively connected so that both can only be moved simultaneously and not either separately or simultaneously as in z'nyimprovement.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 presents a plan view of myimproved file, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. 7

In the drawings, a indicates the base-boardof the file, which may be made of a thin wooden board, or of heavy paper-board or other material. b is the base plate or casting carrying the filing and transfer needles with their thumblevers, 850., and which is fixed to the top end of the base-board, and is formed with the eye 0, whereby the file may be hung up, as usual. d dare the filing-needles, which are prefer-- ably of the tubular kind, with beveled points, with their open bases riveted into the arms of the base-casting b in the usual manner, as iiidicatedin'Fig. 2. ee are the transfer-needles, which are preferably made of solid wire, and are straight at the base, parallel with the filing-needles, but curved in asemicircle at the top to meet with the hollow tip of the filing-needles, as fully shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The filing-needles are riveted at the base end in the fulcrum end of the thumb-levers ff,which are pivoted directl y below the transfer-needles between little ears 9 g, which arise from the base-castin b.

In a recess between the ears on the basecasting is socketed a bow-spring, h, whose convex center bears on a cam-face, i, on the under side of the thumb-lever, the construction of these parts being the same as shown in the Keep patent referred to. Normally the thumblevers are in their raised position, and the transfer-needles are swung over into contact with the filing-needles, as seen at the far side of Fig. 2; but when the thumb-levers are depressed the transfer-needles will be swung back and away from the filing-needles to permit the removal of papers, as seen on the near side of Fig. 2. In either case the springs h, acting on the cams t, will hold the transferneedles in whichever of the said positions they may be set, as will be understood. The thumb leversf f are directed outward, as usual; but heretofore they have been directed straight outward only, with the thumb or finger-plate directly on their ends;.but in my improve ment the ends of the thumb-levers are direct ed laterally toward each other, being formed ICO with lateralthumbplates kJc, which approach each other near the center of. the base-casting 6, over the eye 0, leaving sufficient room for the nail on which the file is hung to project between them, as will be understood on reference to Fig. 1. It will therefore be seen on reference to Figs. 1' and 2 that while" by the described construction each thumb-lever and transfer-needle is independent of the other, yet the thumb-levers are brought near enough to admit of a single thumb being placed on both levers at once, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that bot-h leversmaybe depressed simultaneously with'one action, thus raising both transfer-needles at-o'nc'e, andyet each lever can be depressed separately, when desired, to raise-either needle alone. This, is of greatadvantage in-severalrespects, particu; larly for simplicity of construction and efficiency and convenience of action, audit insures the accurate register of the transfer with the filing needles. for, as each transfer-needle is independent of the other, each will close firmly against its own filing needle when sprung over toward the same, and require no special adjustment with reference to the other, whereas, when both transfer-needles are affixed to thesame lever or bar, or operatively con nected together, one has to be bent or adjusted relatively to the other, so as to insure the simultaneous register of both with the hollow tips of the filing-needles, and they are more likely to get out of position by use than when made to act independently, as in my improvement. Furthermore, in case of bending or breakage of one of the transfer-needles it is' easier to renew or replace the parts when they are separately formed than is the case when both needles are attached to and operated by the same part, as will be readily appreciated.

I prefer the manner of pivoting the transfer-needles sholvvn, which,;as before stated, is that shown in the Keeppatent; butthe transfer-needles may be mounted in any equivalent manner without departing from my invention, the essential feature of which consists in having each needle independent and operated by independent finger or thumb pieces, which approach each-0th er, so as to be spanned and operated by one finger or thumb at one action or depression, and yet allow of the independent depressionof each when desired.

Vhat I claim is- 1. -In abill or letter file formed with twin filing and transfer needles, the combination, with independentlyanoving transfer-needles, of an independent-operating finger piece or lever connected to each transfer-needle, and prolonged or directed toward eachother in close proximity, whereby both leversmay :be spanned and depressed simultaneousl'ylby one finger orthunib. at, one action, or may be operated separately, as desired, substantially as herein set forth. r

2. The -OOll1blIl2LtlOl1,:il1 afile, with a base provided with two filing-needles, such as d d, of two independently-moving transfernee: dles, such as e, levers ff, on which said trans fer-needles are mounted, and lateral prolonga tions 70 70 on said levers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, in a file, with a base having filing-needles d d, of the transfer-needles c e, the pivoted operating-leversff, with cam i and spring h, and lateral approaching 75 thumb-pieces 7c 70, substantially as shown and described.

JOSEPH s. VANHOR'N'L \Vitnesses:

J NO. E. GAVIN, CHAS. M. HIGGINS. 

